NWO Rubicon grant for Machteld Kamminga

23 July 2018

Three recent PhD graduates from the University of Groningen will be able to conduct research at top institutes abroad for two years thanks to the Rubicon programme organized by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The NWO Rubicon programme enables talented, young researchers to acquire international research experience to help kick-start their academic careers.

Dr. Machteld Kamminga

One of the three laureates is Dr. Machteld Kamminga who recently defended her thesis Properties of Organic-Inorganic Hybrids with 'cum laude' distinction. Machteld started her time at the Zernike Institute as student of the Top Master Programme Nanoscience. She stayed as PhD student on a self initialized PhD project enabled by a NWO PhD fellowship. The Rubicon grant will allow her to move to the University of Oxford where she will work on the Design of the best Chemistry Sandwich - Some layered compounds can become superconducting when the right elements are squeezed in between the layers. Kamminga will investigate how this works and how the properties relate to the structure, to determine the best ‘sandwich structure’ for high-temperature superconductors.

About the Rubicon programme

A total of 88 applications for Rubicon grants were submitted to NWO in this round, of which 20 were approved. The awardees can use their Rubicon grant to finance up to 24 months of research. The amount of the grant depends on the chosen destination and the duration of the stay. The Rubicon programme was named after the river that Julius Caesar crossed before embarking on the series of victories that eventually led to the motto ‘veni, vidi, vici’.

On Monday, November 26, UG researcher Anouk Goossens receives the Shell Award. This prize is awarded annually to three (former) physics students. Goossens receives the prize for her investigation into using the material Nb-doped SrTiO3 for imitating...

A bountiful and healthy Wadden Sea is an indispensable link in the life cycles of many migratory birds and fish. This is why the Wadden Fund and the three Wadden provinces – Groningen, Friesland and Noord-Holland – strive for the creation of such a...